A son accused of stealing his parents’ savings is facing charges in an elderly exploitation case in Miami-Dade, authorities said.

Rafael Evelio Barcelo, 67, is facing charges including exploitation or an elderly/disabled person over $50,000, grand theft from a person over 65, and organized scheme to defraud, authorities said Wednesday.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle held a news conference Wednesday afternoon to discuss the case and was joined by Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Barcelo, of Hialeah, is accused of exploiting his 88-year-old mother and his father who died last year at age 90, Fernandez Rundle said.

Authorities said several years ago, the couple’s daughter had been given power of attorney while Barcelo was put in charge of managing their finances and had access to their bank account.

In December 2024, Barcelo’s father fell and fractured his shoulder, and his condition deteriorated.

Barcelo later tried to have his father placed in a long-term care facility, against the parents’ desire to stay in the home they’d lived in together since 1972, Fernandez Rundle said.

In February 2025, the couple went with their daughter to the bank and found the bulk of their money, about $86,000, was gone, leaving them with about $7,000.

The money had been distributed through a $34,000 check to Barcelo’s son and a cashier’s check withdrawal by Barcelo for $52,000, Fernandez Rundle said.

About nine months later, in November 2025, Barcelo’s father died.

“Rafael Barcelo allegedly used his position of trust as the victims’ son and partial caregiver to exploit them by enriching himself and another family member, specifically his son, by withdrawing that $86,000, everything that couple had, everything his parents had,” Fernandez Rundle said.

The case highlights the State Attorney’s Office Elderly and Vulnerable Task Force, which has prosecutors working with county government and local law enforcement to investigate these types of cases.

“This is especially important here in Miami-Dade where we have the largest population of residents over the age of 65 in the entire state,” Levine Cava said. “These are our parents, our grandparents, our friends, our neighbors, and they deserve to age with dignity, to fell safe and to know where they can turn when they need help.”